From Tuesday 6 May the Concertzender will be looking at the history of the record label Blue Note in a new 16-part series.
Click here to listen to part 1
This famous New York jazz label was founded 75 years ago in 1939 by the German immigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margiulis and has a rich history with many great names. Some of the artists that recorded on this label are Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Miles, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver and Grant Green.
In their brochure Alfred and Max explain the Blue Note ideology:”Recording authentic ‘hot’ jazz and swing, free from the commercial and sensation-seeking aspects of this type of music.” The label was known for pampering the artists during studio recordings and for paying them prior to the recording sessions, which would lead to a superior end result.
Blue Note knew bad times as well. In the programme we will elaborate on the succesful period around 1960, the decline after 1970 and the revival in 1985.
Sem de Jongh, managing director of Concertzender: “We tell the story of the birth of the label through essential tracks from the history of Blue Note, we linger over the musical developments in which the label played a major part and over the artists that made the label a truly great one.” The programme will also deal with the driving forces behind Blue Note: founder Alfred Lion, his partner, photographer Francis Wolff, technician Rudy van Gelder and designer-stylist Reid Miles.
The theme tune of the series is ‘Well, you needn’t’ by Thelonious Monk, one of the first artists to be signed by Blue Note.
The programme is compiled by David de Jongh and Jenny Law.
The series starts on 6 May and it can be heard weekly on Tuesdays from 17.00 – 18.00 and in the repeat on Mondays, 17.00 – 18.00. The series does get interrupted in June though, due to the move of the studio and the editors of the Concertzender.
